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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-01-04 CC MINThe Birthplace of Minnesota .t i I'm ter 216 4th Street N, Stillwater, MN 55082 651-430-8800 www.ci.stillwater.mn.us CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES January 4, 2022 REGULAR MEETING 4:30 P.M. Mayor Kozlowski called the meeting to order at 4:34 p.m. Present: Mayor Kozlowski, Councilmembers Collins, Junker, Odebrecht, Polehna Absent: None Staff present: City Administrator McCarty City Attorney Land City Clerk Wolf Community Development Director Gladhill Finance Director Provos Fire Chief Glaser Police Chief Mueller Public Works Director Sanders IT Manager Holman Library Director Troendle OTHER BUSINESS City Administrator Vacancy Recruitment Selection Mark Casey, David Drown Associates, led discussion of the 13 semi-finalist candidates. Motion by Councilmember Junker, seconded by Councilmember Collins, to authorize the consultant to confirm Candidates #4, 11, 12 and 13 as potential finalists. All in favor. Compensation Market Review Draft Final Report - GovHR USA Joellen Cademartori, CEO of GovHR USA, explained the process used to complete the market survey and analysis of the City's wage schedule. She reviewed the Draft Final Report and Recommendations. City Administrator McCarty stated that a resolution will be presented for City Council consideration at its January 18, 2022 meeting. Motion by Councilmember Polehna, seconded by Councilmember Collins, to accept the report and move forward with cost analysis of implementation. All in favor. Bridgeview Park/Bergstein Shoddy Mill Reuse Plan Update Community Development Director Gladhill reviewed the following regarding the Bergstein Shoddy Mill and Bridgeview Park: a revised cost estimate/design for a transient dock ($500,000 or $750,000 with contingency); revised cost estimate for Bergstein Shoddy Mill rehabilitation ($300,000-500,000 for basic structural repairs only, or $600,000-$1 million for tenant improvements/able to lease); and anticipated Historic Preservation review process and timeframe. He listed the regulatory bodies involved and anticipated uses from City Council Meeting January 4, 2022 the Reuse Study. He requested direction on next steps for Phase I Improvements, and suggested that the City Council authorize a Request for Interest (RFI) to better understand potential uses and how they conform/do not conform to historic preservation standards. That will help filter desirable uses and choose an alternative to explore in greater detail. At this time, Staff recommends that energy be focused on securing funding based on current cost estimates before other activities. The City can still work with interested users to better refine potential uses, cost implications and other financial considerations in the meantime. Councilmember Junker remarked that if the stands and props were taken down, the buildings could fall over. Trying to create something out of two buildings that cannot even stand on their own may not be a good use of funds. Mr. Gladhill responded that the City needs to do something because currently the buildings are vulnerable to animals and graffiti. There is a way to shore the buildings up so they are not structurally substandard, but it is costly. The case could be made for inclusion in the State bonding bill. He does not think demolition is an option because MnDOT spent $1 million to move those two buildings as part of the mitigation of the new bridge. Councilmember Odebrecht agreed the buildings are poorly maintained, yet they have significant historic value because there is little Jewish history in this part of the country. The City should tell legislators that the City took on a lot, and these have historic value. Mayor Kozlowski stated bringing the buildings up to code is way too much for the City to undertake. Because they were part of federal legislation on the bridge, the issue is bigger than just Stillwater. He suggested reaching out to Congresswoman McCollum to see if there is any possibility of funding. Councilmember Odebrecht stated it should be a public/private partnership. Mr. Gladhill stated that if the Council wishes to pursue State or Federal funding, the request would be bolstered if there is interest in a particular project. Staff can help connect with potential team members and pull together a preferred public/private partnership. He suggested the Council authorize an RFI to see who is interested in occupying the space. Councilmember Polehna stated he would like to see the Parks & Recreation Commission involvement. He would also would like to get going on the dock project. Mayor Kozlowski agreed he would like to see the public dock closer to downtown. Mr. Gladhill stated staff can look into a better way to partner with St. Croix Boat & Packet. The Council consensus was to direct staff to move forward with an RFI for reuse of the Bergstein buildings. STAFF REPORTS Public Works Director Sanders stated that the World Snow Sculpting Championship committee asked the City to provide trucks to haul snow from Afton Alps, but they need a loader to load the snow into the trucks. Getting that equipment there would be difficult for the City because there is no trailer to haul it. Councilmembers agreed it is okay for the City to assist with the trucks, but the City cannot provide a loader as well. Police Chief Mueller updated the Council on Department activities. Officers are part of an inter -jurisdictional team supporting Washington County and the East Metro. Incident Page 2 of 8 City Council Meeting January 4, 2022 response training will start tomorrow. Many City resources have gone into the snow sculpting event. Officers are working closely with businesses and residents to help the homeless. Officers continue responding to many mental health related calls. Fire Chief Glaser informed the Council that 2021 ended with 2,276 calls, a 15% increase from 2020. There will be a blood drive January 11. The staffing study RFP will close on Friday. There are eight candidates for the firefighter engineer position. The Fire Department will turn 150 years old on May 28, 2022. Community Development Director Gladhill stated that the Department is focusing on replacing Zoning Administrator Tait who will leave next week. The Chestnut Street Plaza plans are under MnDOT review and there have been some plan changes. Staff is looking for cost effective ways to stop people jumping from the fourth floor of the parking ramp onto the Lowell Inn roof. Demolition of the 200 Chestnut Building will start around February 1. City Clerk Wolf provided a redistricting update. The Charter Commission supports the proposed boundary change. Staff would like to reduce the number of polling locations to one per ward. A public meeting to gain input will be held in March. City Attorney Land told the Council her law office has moved to a new location in Eagan. City Administrator McCarty shared an OSHA vaccination mandate update. Pending a Supreme Court decision, the City must ensure its policy reflects OSHA vaccination requirements. The implementation date would be January 10. Staff will meet soon to review event policies and bring back February 1 for discussion. IT Manager Holman updated the Council on Department activities. Cameras were installed at the Fire Department and in process at the Rec Center, City Hall and Teddy Bear Park. Staff is working on forensic storage for the Police Department, and has been doing ICS training and patching for a vulnerability that came out last week. Later this year, staff will start looking at the IT security assessment. Library Director Troendle shared information on library events, the winter reading program, and new technology help sessions. RECESS Mayor Kozlowski recessed the meeting at 6:01 p.m. RECESSED MEETING 7:00 P.M. Mayor Kozlowski called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present: Mayor Kozlowski, Councilmembers Collins, Junker, Odebrecht, Polehna Absent: None Staff present: City Administrator McCarty City Attorney Land City Clerk Wolf Community Development Director Gladhill Finance Director Provos Fire Chief Glaser Police Chief Mueller Page 3 of 8 City Council Meeting January 4, 2022 Public Works Director Sanders City Planner Wittman PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Kozlowski led the Council and audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. RECOGNITIONS OR PRESENTATIONS Proclamation -150th Anniversary of the Stillwater Fire Dept Mayor Kozlowski recognized the 150th anniversary of the formation of the Stillwater Fire Department and proclaimed 2022 as Stillwater Fire Department 150th Anniversary. Fire Chief Glaser told about the history of the Stillwater Fire Department, summarized the responsibilities of the Department, and recognized retired firefighters in attendance. OPEN FORUM Roger Tomten, Sustainable Stillwater, thanked Zoning Administrator Tait for all his work with GreenStep Cities and Sustainable Stillwater. Louise Hansen, 212 Second St N., requested a crosswalk be marked at Second and Commercial Streets. Public Works Director Sanders stated the City can paint a crosswalk this summer, but every intersection is considered a pedestrian crosswalk whether marked or unmarked. CONSENT AGENDA December 21, 2021 regular meeting minutes Payment of Bills Resolution 2022-001, Designating a Responsible Authority and Assigning Duties in Accordance with the State of Minnesota Data Practices Statute Resolution 2022-002, a Resolution Approving City Employees as the Official Designated City Authority to Make Electronic Funds Transfers Resolution 2022-003, Designation of Depositories for 2022 Resolution 2022-004, Resolution Approving the City of Stillwater 2022 Fee Schedule Resolution 2022-005, Resolution Granting License to St. Croix Sauna for the Operation of a Mobile Sauna Located in the Water Street Inn Parking Lot Brian's Bar Bocce Ball Tournament Event Application 2022 Pay Equity Report Councilmember Polehna asked that Resolution 2022-005, Resolution Granting License to St. Croix Sauna for the Operation of a Mobile Sauna Located in the Water Street Inn Parking Lot, be removed from the Consent Agenda. He thinks it is inappropriate for the City to provide utilities for a private business. They should provide their own utilities. Mayor Kozlowski countered that this is a first time request. The Council denied their initial request for a public parking lot, suggesting they put it on private property. Now they are doing that but power must be run from the public lot. He asked how payment is calculated. Page 4 of 8 City Council Meeting January 4, 2022 Mr. Gladhill stated the fee schedule states $20/day, charged only for the days they are in operation. The sauna probably would not use $20 per day of electricity. The power is for their LED lights only. The sauna is powered by wood fire. Mayor Kozlowski stated he has no problem with the request, with the caveat that if the snow sculpting event needs that box, that event will have priority. Councilmember Junker stated this is a bigger picture issue that the Council and staff need to work on this winter. He would prefer to wait until the Council can discuss how to handle these types of requests consistently throughout the whole downtown. Motion by Councilmember Odebrecht, seconded by Councilmember Polehna, to adopt the Consent Agenda as amended. All in favor. Mayor Kozlowski stated he does not think approving the request would set a precedent. Councilmember Junker commented that the outdoor ice rink and most events are over February 28, so he sees no reason to extend this amenity past February 28. Councilmember Odebrecht stated more cost accounting is needed. He agrees with Councilmembers Polehna and Junker that, if approved it should end February 28. Jeff Freitag, St. Croix Sauna, stated using the City's power source is the easiest and most advantageous way to keep the sidewalk clear. There is a manufactured box by the parking gate, but it is not ready to put power in. They would use a very limited amount of power that would probably cost 25 cents a day. He would have an issue with ending it in February because it's not correlated with the other events and they are trying to make a go of the business. Councilmember Odebrecht stated it should be a policy -driven decision with numbers behind it. The applicant has done a good job getting off public property. He fully understands the need to stop putting public funds toward private ventures but to get moving on this, he will move to approve. Motion by Councilmember Odebrecht, seconded by Mayor Kozlowski, to adopt Resolution 2022-005, Resolution Granting License to St. Croix Sauna for the Operation of a Mobile Sauna Located in the Water Street Inn Parking Lot through April 30, 2022. Motion failed 2-3 with Councilmembers Collins, Junker and Polehna voting nay. PUBLIC HEARINGS There were no public hearings. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Case No. 2021-66, Miray and Torn Coleman to appeal CPC Case 2021-57 on the Planning Commission's approval ofa Conditional Use Permit for outside storage and denial of a Variance to the City's Tree and Forest Protection Requirements for property located at 1749 Greeley St S in the BP -I District. City Planner Wittman reviewed the history of the case. The applicants are requesting reconsideration of a Conditional Use Permit that was approved for Outside Storage in the BP -I District for a vehicle impound lot associated with Stillwater Towing. Since the Council's Page 5 of 8 City Council Meeting January 4, 2022 December 7, 2021 meeting, City staff has researched the history of the zoning classification, historic and current Comprehensive Plan policies and goals, aerial imagery, historic City Code changes and use permit history. She summarized staff's research findings, and referred to the North American Industry Classification System, which helps define "like" uses. Ms. Wittman provided a letter from the applicant's attorney which was distributed to the Council on December 28, 2021. There appear to be clear indications that the intent of City Code was to restrict the outdoor storage of automobiles as a primary use within the BP- I zoning district. Furthermore, after all the research conducted after the Planning Commission meeting, staff now points out that the application fails on several fronts and does not conform to the intent of the Zoning Code, is not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, and would be a nuisance to the public welfare. Therefore, staff recommends that the City Council overturn the Planning Commission's approval. Mayor Kozlowski asked why consider cars differently than other items that are stored outdoors; and Ms. Wittman responded the approval was appealed. The Planning Commission made the findings that automobiles are okay. Staff is saying that given the fact that this is going to be a 24 hour operation, there is a potential for nuisance due to noise in the neighborhood. There are no conditions in the current location; it is a legal nonconforming use. Mayor Kozlowski remarked, if they cross the street it's a nuisance but if they stay where they are, it's not? Right now the business is 10' from homes. If it moves it would be 450' away from homes. Ms. Wittman stated that is a very valid question. The business as it is is not generating complaints requiring any sort of enforcement action. Mayor Kozlowski inquired about environmental conditions; and Ms. Wittman stated staff believes the conditions that were presented to the Planning Commission are sufficient. The Planning Commission even amended them to include additional testing beyond requirements of the Watershed Management Organization. There are currently no environmental conditions related to the current property. Public Works Director Sanders added that the new location flows into Brick Pond before it flows into Lily Lake. The current location flows directly into Lily Lake. Councilmember Odebrecht pointed out that the Watershed District signed off on the mitigation plan for the new location. Mayor Kozlowski acknowledged the City code is messy. This area has been industrial and commercial long before it was even part of Stillwater. With outdoor storage being allowed by CUP, staff struggled to figure out if that includes automobiles. The applicant reached out to the City and was told that outdoor storage is outdoor storage and requires a CUP. The main issue for the residents does not get solved if the Council denies the application. The issue is they live next to an industrial zoning district and that is not going to change. What is important is to figure out the conditions to attach to this use to try to protect the residents as much as possible. If the Council denies this application, and the property gets sold, a new company could stack 55 gallon drums in that parking lot. The proposed site is better, safer, and further away from homes than the current location. The conditions he thinks should be discussed are: duration of vehicle storage, limiting the number of cars that can be stored, Page 6 of 8 City Council Meeting January 4, 2022 landscaping/fencing, screening, tree growth and all the environmental conditions that have already been outlined. Councilmember Odebrecht agreed there are a number of outright permitted uses that would not come before the Council and would just be allowed. Councilmember Junker noted that the City issued six SUPs in that area in the 1990s for different businesses. There is presently a lot of storage in that area with no screening. Councilmember Polehna stated he is struggling with the storage of cars, though it appears to be the best site for that business. Gas trucks ran out of that location for years. Ms. Wittman reminded the Council that the case before them is for outside storage. If the Council is favorable, it is about conditions. But staff notes that no matter what happens, a code amendment will probably be needed to provide clarification for this and future property owners. Mayor Kozlowski stated he is concerned about how to ensure the neighbors would not see or hear the business, and that there is appropriate screening and foliage. Councilmember Collins stated he is not in favor of the application and that the size of the storage area is being increased, but if it moves forward, one of his concerns is the maintenance agreement and how to know that 25 or 50 years from now, the property owner will adhere to the conditions. Community Development Director Gladhill stated that code enforcement currently is on a complaint basis. Mayor Kozlowski stated he is inclined to approve the application and would love to have a neighborhood meeting to make sure neighbors are satisfied with the conditions before it comes back to the Council. Councilmember Junker stated he would support that but there should be suggested conditions because he is not sure that the applicant can come to concurrence with the neighbors. Councilmember Collins stated that from the public hearing and the correspondence, the neighbors have been loud and clear, and he does not think a meeting will solve anything. City Attorney Land clarified that conditions are not negotiated solely according to the desires of the neighbors; they must be reasonable. The action requested of the Council is to uphold the appeal, which is to overturn the Planning Commission and deny the application. Staff would then come back to next meeting with findings for denial. If that is not supported, then the action is rejecting/denying the appeal and upholding the decision of the Planning Commission. Motion by Councilmember Junker, seconded by Councilmember Polehna, to reject the appeal and uphold the Planning Commission decision, and to direct staff to return with finalized conditions of approval. Motion passed 4-1, with Councilmember Collins voting nay. Page 7 of 8 City Council Meeting January 4, 2022 NEW BUSINESS Council Representative Appointments to Boards and Commissions Motion by Councilmember Junker, seconded by Councilmember Collins, to adopt Resolution 2022-006, Designation of Council Representatives for 2022 Boards and Commissions. All in favor. ā¯‘esignation of Vice Mayor Motion by Mayor Kozlowski, seconded by Councilmember Junker, to adopt Resolution 2022- 007, Designating Council Vice Mayor for 2022. All in favor. Water Street No Parking Request Public Works Director Sanders explained that staff recommends parking be prohibited on the west side of Water Street between Myrtle and Mulberry to eliminate bottlenecks and create better traffic flow. The Downtown Parking Commission recommends approval. Motion by Councilmember Polehna, seconded by Councilmember Junker, to adopt Resolution 2022-008, Authorizing No Parking on the West Side of Water Street from Myrtle Street to Mulberry. All in favor. COUNCIL REQUEST ITEMS There were no Council request items. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Councilmember Junker, seconded by Councilmember Collins, to adjourn. All in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m. ATTEST: 9 'AAP* ni J. homas McCarty, A ng City Clerk Ted Kozlowski, Mayor Resolution 2022-001, Designating a Responsible Authority and Assigning Duties in Accordance with the State of Minnesota Data Practices Statute Resolution 2022-002, a Resolution Approving City Employees as the Official Designated City Authority to Make Electronic Funds Transfers Resolution 2022-003, Designation of Depositories for 2022 Resolution 2022-004, Resolution Approving the City of Stillwater 2022 Fee Schedule Resolution 2022-006, Designation of Council Representatives for 2022 Boards and Commissions Resolution 2022-007, Designating Council Vice Mayor for 2022 Resolution 2022-008, Authorizing No Parking on the West Side of Water Street from Myrtle Street to Mulberry Page 8 of 8